Hope Is in the Work: Continuing Martin Luther King Jr.’s Fight for Economic Justice | @prosperitynow

[tweet_dis2]Hope Is in the Work: Continuing Martin Luther King Jr.’s Fight for Economic Justice from @prosperitynow[/tweet_dis2]
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MLK Day is indeed a time to celebrate the monumental achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in civil rights. But it is important that we also honor his later legacy: a champion for economic justice. In many ways, America’s current economic vulnerabilities parallel Dr. King’s own observations about the unfinished work of the civil rights movement.

Five months before his assassination in April of 1968, Dr. King announced the Poor People’s Campaign in response to the shortcomings of civil rights legislation that allowed economic inequality to persist. Dr. King called for people of all colors and backgrounds to march on Washington, DC and demand jobs, education, a fair minimum wage and more.

But momentum was lost after his death, leaving much of this work on the backburner. Since then, poverty has increased from 9 percent to 12 percent among working age Americans. While more people are in the labor force today than in 1968, wages have not kept pace, making it harder for working Americans to make ends meet.

The very people King sought to lift up—those on the most vulnerable rungs of society—are those still hurting today. The best way to honor Dr. King is for our nation to turn its attention back to the unfinished work of economic justice.

To that end, Prosperity Now supports community-based organizations led by people of color across the United States to help them lead the change they want to see in their communities. These organizations—focused on addressing a range of challenges such as job training, health care, small business development among others—have partnered with Prosperity Now to help uplift vulnerable members of their communities. We firmly believe that those closest to the problem are closest to the solutions, and by strengthening community-based organizations, we are showing our commitment to Dr. King’s vision.

Whether any of these proposals gain traction and become reality in the coming years is uncertain, but we do know one thing for sure: to effect any change, those of us who believe in Dr. King’s unfinished goals will need to take action. We at Prosperity Now hope you will join us in our policy and programmatic work to put financial security and wealth equality for all families at the forefront in 2019.

As Dr. King labored towards his dream until his very last day, we are urged to remember that “hope is in the work”. While the last few years reflect unrest and discord that echo the 1960s, we must pick up from where the Poor People’s Campaign left off in 1968 to create an economy that works for everyone.